Daffodils and FoxKittens
by Evangel Tepes
Summary: A kind of friendship story about a Vulpix and Eevee.
1. Chapter 1

This is a test for all the people who actually read this story. I'd like to re-start it, and if this chapter works better than the original, I'll use it. Otherwise, I'll continue the story. Make sure to leave reviews or PM me, otherwise, I won't know if it's good.

The enraged yelling could be heard from miles way. The Oak Laboratories looked as though they could crumble from the Professor's booming voice.

"YOU DID WHAT!?" he screamed at the top of his lungs, a cowering AIDE before him.

"I-I-I-I-I dropped th-th-th-th-the s-s-s-s-special PokeBalls in the V-V-V-V-V-V-iridian For-"

"DO YOU HAVE *ANY* IDEA JUST HOW SPECIAL THEY WERE! EACH BALL HELD SPECIAL POKEMON THAT I NEEDED TO RESEARCH! YOU! IMBECILE!" The Professor slammed a Pokedex on his research table, causing the AIDE to flinch. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK TO CAPTURE THEM!?"

"I was there! Eeeeek!" The AIDE flinched and jumped to the side when Oak threw a Poke Ball at him. "I-I-I'll go track them out immediately!"

"YOU MORON! THAT'S THE POINT! IT TOOK US DAYS TO FIND THEM! WE'LL NEVER RETRIEVE THEM!"

The Professor continued to lob items at the AIDE, who ran around the labroom like a beheaded chicken before finally fleeing the building altogether. Once Oak calmed down, he sat at his desk and sighed.

"I only hope those Pokemon can at least escape the Poke Balls and live, somehow. The Viridian Forest is nothing like the habitat they're used to…"

*Meanwhile, in the Viridian Forest…*

Two Poke Balls lay in a well-traveled path, just in front of a large patch of grass. Pidgey were starting to gather around the balls as they continually made little "Blip" noises and rolled about. Finally, a Rattata that had come along nudged one of the balls with its nose, causing it to burst open and unleash a Pokemon in a beam of red light. The quadruped Pokemon mewled , shaking its head and making its brown hair stand on end. Its white mane hung freely around its neck, quivering with every rapid breath it took.

"The hell is that…?" one Pidgey asked another. "I don't know," it replied, looking up and down the Fox-Kitten.

After apprehensively looking around, the Pokemon held a look of worry on its muzzle. It knew nothing of the new world that lay before it – not the other Pokemon, not the forest, not the odd Ball that lay beside it, twitching and beeping. It curiously inspected the round item, sniffing it, nudging it, trying to roll it around. By random luck it managed to press the button that opened the Poke Ball, releasing another Pokemon. This one was different – it was covered in brown fur, but had six curly tails and a curly plumage on its forehead. It unleashed a jet-stream of flame from its mouth in a rage, burning a random Pidgey.

"What the hell! What kind of monster is this!?" some of the Pokemon that had gathered now cried as they fled the rampaging creature. It began randomly thrashing at the Pokemon that attempted to get close and knock it out to stop it from possibly destroying the forest. Finally a Caterpie managed to bind him down with a String Shot move, encasing the Pokemon's body in a cocoon of silk.

"Let- me- go!" the Pokemon roared, head sticking out of the cocoon. The Caterpie used String Shot to muffle the Pokemon's mouth so the residents of the forest could talk.

"What kind of Pokemon is this?" a Pidgey asked, stepping forth and looking at the Pokemon with its head cocked.

A Weedle looked around the other Pokemon, cowering behind a rock. "And for that matter, what kind of Pokemon is that?"

Every Pokemon turned its' attention to the small fox-kitten as it cautiously crawled towards them. "…Eevee…" it finally whimpered in a nearly-broken, terrified voice. A Pikachu waddled up to it and sniffed it.

"Your name is Eevee?" it asked. The Eevee nodded. "You smell like you're only a few months old, aren't you?"

The Pokemon didn't respond, only looking down at the ground and whimpering. "…I want my momma…"

The Pikachu walked back towards the group. "I've seen Pokemon like that before. Eevee. It's not threatening until it evolves. Besides, it's so young it might not live very long on its own." It turned to look at the Pokemon that still struggled with its silk binding.

"What about that creature?" a Weedle asked.

"That, I believe, is a Vulpix. As you can see, it can shoot flames from its mouth." He got closer and sniffed the Vulpix carefully. "It's a year old, I think. Vulpix generally leave their mothers after a few months, so this one has been on its own for some time and most likely knows how to fight. I don't know what we should do with it. If we allow it to live here, then it runs the risk of possibly destroying all of us in some angry firestorm."

The Vulpix finally blasted a jet of fire from its mouth, burning the silk gag in two. One of the smoldering bits landed on the cocoon and set it partially, ablaze, allowing the Vulpix to break free. On all fours again, it growled and lowered its head to the ground while staring threateningly at the group of Pokemon in front of it. "I'll destroy you and your humans," he growled threateningly, "so just let me go without a fight." The snarling Fox-Kitten had already started building up a Fire Blast in the back of his throat.

The Pokemon, all ram-rod stiff for fear of any movement triggering the Vulpix's destructive power, stared between themselves with uncertain looks. Finally, the Pikachu stepped forth.

"We're not controlled by humans," it spoke calmly. "We're wild, like you. This forest is our home. It's called "Viridian Forest" by the humans, and that's the name we've taken to calling it, too."

Vulpix allowed the flame in its mouth to dissipate and relaxed a little. "Big deal. So you're not some human's pets. You think that gives me any reason to trust you?"

The Pikachu shook its head. "I'm not asking you trust us, except for this one thing. On behalf of the whole Forest, I welcome you and the Eevee. However, I have two conditions for you, Vulpix."

"Two conditions…?" the Vulpix repeated, quirking an eyebrow.

Pikachu nodded. "Yes. We'll allow you to live here without trouble so long as you never use your Fire-type power to damage the forest."

The Vulpix snarled in anger. Pikachu wagged a finger at the Fox-Kitten. "That's not to say that you can't use it in battle for defensive purposes, now."

"FINE. What's the other condition?"

Pikachu turned around and looked at Eevee. Seconds later all the gathered Pokemon were looking at her, too, which caused her to try and shrink as small as possible to avoid attention. "You have to take and raise her."

"WHAT?!" Vulpix repeated in near-outrage. A tiny, harmless stream of fire spurted from his mouth.

"You have to take and raise Eevee as your own pup-"

"KIT."

"your own KIT, then," the yellow Mouse-Pokemon repeated. "Do that, and we'll let you live here without any problems."

Vulpix started pacing back and forth, quietly snarling and growling to himself. It seemed as though he was talking to himself about the conditions set forth. Finally he walked straight up to Pikachu.

"Fine. I accept your conditions," he murmured grumpily, extending a paw. Pikachu grasped the other Pokemon's paw and shook it.

"Good! Done deal. Welcome to the Viridian Forest," he said with a smile. "If you'd like, I can show you to some abandoned dens for you and-"

"I – WE will be fine," Vulpix interrupted indignantly. He walked through the group of Pokemon and past the Eevee. "Come on, let's get going," he whispered to her as he walked past. She hesitated, then slowly trotted along behind him. She looked back once at the Pokemon, who had since begun to dissipate, except for the Pikachu. He only smiled and waved at her, then crawled off into the grass.

"What are you doing? Come on," Vulpix said grumpily. She jumped at hearing his voice again, then realized he was talking to her and quickly ran to catch up to him.

Vulpix and Eevee searched for a suitable den for almost two hours. Some were too small, some showed signs of recent inhabitation, others were just shabby. Finally, they found a space under some rocks far off from the traveled path in Viridian. It was just big enough for the two of them, and hadn't been used before by any Pokemon. It overlooked a massive Berry Tree grove, so finding food wouldn't be a problem.

The sun had begun to set, so Eevee crawled into the hole, laid down, and tucked its paws under its body. Vulpix, however, did not immediately crawl in with her. Instead, he began dragging dead branches up from the tree grove onto the rock platform. After building a suitable pile, he set it aflame with one breath.

Eevee watched him, not speaking, not moving, until he'd started the fire. She crawled out of the den and sat across from him at the fire's side with her gaze cast downward. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered quietly.

Vulpix laid down, tucked his paws under his body, and looked at her with one eye closed. "Sorry? For what?"

"I know you didn't want to be stuck with me, and I know you don't want me here right now," she replied. "I'm sorry."

"Save your breath," Vulpix replied. "I've had bigger troubles than raising a kit. This is nothing… Besides, you're not the one who should be apologizing for anything anyway. I can't be anything like your family was…"

She didn't say anything. Vulpix heard her start to whimper as she crawled back into the den. As the moon rose higher, the forest grew colder, pre-empting Vulpix to continue to build up a bigger pile of dead branches to feed into the fire. Periodically he'd hear a soft whimper or cry finding its way out of the den and figured it was just Eevee having dreams. He walked around the fire to sit with his back to the opening so he could more efficiently watch out for threats.

At around midnight Vulpix threw a branch into the fire and climbed on top of the rocks, looking into the tree grove. The sound of his claws clicking on the rock stirred Eevee, and she crawled out of the den with a yawn. She looked around for Vulpix and finally saw him standing on the rocks, his silhouette against the full moon. She took a step to the side, removing the moon's direct illumination and letting her actually see him as more than a black shadow. There, his brown fur glistened in the pale moonlight, and his rust-colored eyes looked as though they were a thousand miles deeper. Poor little Eevee wasn't entirely sure, but, her heart was beating hard and she felt nervous. Her stomach felt as though it were so heavy it was dragging on the ground.

"A-am I… in love?" she whispered with fear and excitement. Vulpix jerked his head in her direction, quite alert to her presence now.

"You! Bed! Now!" he barked in surprise. She yipped and shrank back.

"It's too cold…" Eevee whined, her ears drooping.

Vulpix looked behind her, at his dwindled fire. "I didn't notice… I'm always warm…" he muttered. Then he fixed his gaze onto her. "Fine. I'm coming."

She perked her head and ears as if confused. Vulpix hopped down from the rock ledge. "Get in the den, now," he commanded softly, but firmly. Eevee did as she was told, crawled in and curled into a furry ball. No sooner had she done so did Vulpix crawl in and curl around her, and almost instantly filled the whole den with heat. Without meaning to, Eevee started purring, but Vulpix said nothing. The night passed quickly as they slept in peace.


	2. Chapter 2 My Little Eevee

As the sun rose over Viridian Forest, the Pidgey began crowing one-by-one until the forest rang with the chirping of Pidgey and Spearow. The cacophony slowly brought Vulpix out of his slumber, albeit none the cheerier as per his usual waking routine. He had never been much of a diurnal creature to start with.

Vulpix yawned. The moist air of his breath found its way into Eevee's ear, making her shiver, which in turn led Vulpix to jump in surprise. He'd practically all but forgotten about the events of yesterday. Eevee yipped and recoiled in response to all the sudden commotion Vulpix was causing as he scrambled out of the den and into the open.

As Vulpix paced nervously around the bonfire's remains, the events of the previous day gradually came back to him. He finally calmed down just in time for Eevee to come out as well.

"Vulpix… are you okay?" she asked timidly.

"I'm fine," he replied stiffly, "just… a little… hungry…"

Eevee raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "I'm hungry, too… Let's go get some berries?"

"Alright, let's go," he replied. "We'll get a branch or two of berries and bring them back here to eat."

Vulpix and Eevee descended the steep hill down into the berry tree grove. Poor Eevee tripped just before reaching the flatter land and rolled into Vulpix, and the two tumbled head-on into a tree. Plump red berries rained down onto and around them from the treetops above as they tried to untangle themselves from each other.

"Watch where you're going!" Vulpix barked harshly after the clamor had died. Eevee withdrew into as tight a ball as she could, cringing and awaiting some kind of attack punishment. However, when she opened her eyes she saw Vulpix staring perplexedly at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Aren't you going to attack me?"

"No… why would you think I would?"

Eevee looked away, seemingly in a sullen mood. "…no reason…"

Vulpix continued to stare, silently getting across the fact that they weren't going any further until she explained herself.

Eevee hung her head in defeat. "Alright, Vulpix, I'll tell you… but please, keep it a secret?"

Vulpix nodded, curious, but held a feeling of dread in his stomach.

The smaller fox-kitten sighed. "Back at my home, my brothers… My mother died saving me from a swarm of Beedrill. My brothers – Flareon, Umbreon, and Vaporeon – all hated me for causing her death.

"From that day on they hurt me, attacked me, a lot of the time for no reason at all. But sometimes when I did something bad, on accident or purpose, they'd burn me, or bite me, or claw me. I was always in pain…"

Vulpix looked off into the distance. "What they did wasn't right. Seems to me like something's mentally wrong with them. You didn't deserve any of that."

Eevee sobbed – a noise that initially startled Vulpix as he wasn't aware she was crying. "I tried to run away, but they'd always catch me. I thought I'd never get away."

Vulpix put a paw on Eevee's forehead, trying to comfort her in some way. She continued crying, though. "I was trying to get away when those humans caught me," she whimpered. "I tried so hard to get away… I thought they were helping my brothers."

"Something tells me they weren't," Vulpix said. "Humans tend to hunt us only to keep us as pets."

Eevee cuddled her face in Vulpix's shoulder, sobbing a little less than before and not speaking. Vulpix tried to wrap an arm around her neck but only really succeeded in wedging his paw between her shoulder blades. After a few minutes she was calm once again.

"Are you ready?" Vulpix asked. "We still need to get some berries. I'm starving, now."

Eevee giggled. "Me, too. Let's go!"

As they went from tree-to-tree examining the fallen branches for any good berries, Eevee quietly hummed songs. Vulpix found himself purring under his breath. For once, he felt… somewhat pleasant, instead of angrily violent. 'I wonder if this is what it feels like to have a friend…' he pondered, a small half-smile tugging at his lips. Apparently, though, his expression still appeared somber as it prompted Eevee to ask him if he was okay. "I'm fine," he replied quietly. "I'm just… thinking."

"About what?"

"My past… kinda…"

"What about it?" she asked again. Vulpix looked into her eyes. They were so bright, so vibrant, so… innocent.

'After all she's gone through, she still retains her childish innocence,' he remarked. 'I can't take that away from her. Though, she did witness her own mother's death… no. She will know only once she is ready.'

"I can't tell you. It's something… that I want only to forget."

Eevee's ears drooped in disappointment. "Ohhhhh… fine…"

Vulpix chuckled quietly. "Sorry. You really wanted to know something more about me, huh?"

Eevee nodded. "What about that mark on your paw?"

"This?" he asked, holding up his front-left paw to reveal a white star-shaped mark. "It's a scar I got when I was born. I was actually just thinking about how this scar came to be."

Eevee looked away, downcast. "I'm sorry…"

"Why?"

"You said you wanted to forget, and all I did was make you remember…"

He perked up a little, trying to make her absorb some happiness. "It's not your fault. I'll be fine, I promise."

She smiled a little. "Okay. Um, Vulpix?"

"Yes? What now?"

"Mother used to tell me that when I evolved, she'd have to give me a new nickname, because I wouldn't be her little Eevee anymore."

"So you want me to give you a nickname when you evolve, right?"

She blushed and looked away. "If you don't mind…"

"And am I to call you my little Eevee as well?" he teased.

She blushed even harder. Her heart was a thunderous drum in her throat and her mind screamed "YES! CALL ME YOUR LITTE EEVEE! I BEG OF YOU!"

"I-If you'd like…" She stuttered so nervously her teeth chattered.

"Very well then… my little Eevee," he said with a wink. "Let's go get some berries before everyone else does."

When he turned around she nearly died from happiness. Vulpix had gotten far enough from Eevee when he heard a whistling sound, as though something were falling from high in the sky. He turned his head upwards, trying to find the source, but saw nothing.

"VUUULLLL-PIIIIX!" Eevee suddenly shrieked. He quickly turned to see her cowering with her paws on her head. A Pidgeotto was bearing down on her from the rear, where Vulpix could not initially see.

Snarling furiously he sprinted to Eevee knowing that whoever reached her first would quickly have the decisive advantage. As he ran, the friction-heat in his fur grew so exponentially that his whole body was engulfed in flames. This was Flare Blitz, one of his fury-induced Fire-type moves. Most Trainers knew and feared the devastation typically associated with the move. However, these Pokemon did not belong to any Trainers. Vulpix was not indigent to the Forest, and for that matter, no Fire-type Pokemon lived in the Viridian Forest at all.

The Pidgeotto had no idea just how royally screwed it was.

Vulpix had built up enough momentum that he couldn't stop running at a moment's notice. "Eevee, MOVE!" he shrieked. The way he was running, he'd collide with her and she would take his raging flames, instead of the attacking Bird Pokemon.

At the very last second she jumped out of the way, leaving the two Pokemon to viciously collide head-on. Pidgeotto tried to raze Vulpix with its talons but the moment it came into the slightest contact with the fur it was instantly engulfed in fire and came to a rolling crash-landing, with Vulpix immediately continuing the assault mid-roll. Feathers flew as he bit and clawed into the Bird Pokemon. After moments, the match was claimed by the tiny fox – however, in his blind rage he couldn't stop attacking. Soon, small flecks of red started to appear all over the immediate area, and they were gradually increasing in size.

Eevee sat by, crying in horror at Vulpix's ferocity. She'd been continuously crying out to him to stop, that it had gone too far, but her soft, tiny voice just wasn't getting through to him. In a last-ditch attempt to stop him she drew in as much air as her lungs could hold and forced it all back out with all her seemingly limited might.

The resounding screech (STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!) was so high-pitched and surprisingly loud it shook trees and rumbled in the ground all the way to Pewter City. When the sound blast his Vulpix it knocked him off of his feet and had enough force left over to slam him into a tree, knocking him out. Eevee started to run towards him and noticed a couple of Pidgeotto circling overhead. They swooped down and began to pick up their compatriot.

"Sorry about Edwin, here," one said. "Sometimes he makes himself believe he's the very best fighter ever, and goes on a bit of a rampage. But now, looking like this, I doubt he'll go after you two again."

Eevee said nothing, and only cautiously watched them carry away the critically injured bird. After they had disappointed from sight she rushed to his side.

"Vulpix? Vulpix?!" she sobbed, poking, licking, or nipping his ears, face, or paws. He still had a heartbeat, though, so she knew he must've just been fainted. She decided to do something productive while he was out, and gathered a heaping pile of berries onto some branches and left them within their sight. She returned to his side and started to lay down beside him when she cringed at the sight of all the blood on his muzzle and claws. Delicately, she licked her paw and wiped at the stained areas until the blood was as gone as she could get it. After that, he still had not awoken, so she curled up behind him and went to sleep.


	3. Blaze

Author's note – Chapter 4 is on hiatus until I finish a brief side-project. I need only write one chapter for another author's work. After that, I will be entirely focused on Daffodils and Fox-Kittens once more.

It was another cold sunrise in Viridian Forest as Eevee awoke alone in her den. She'd grown too big for her and Vulpix both to fit inside, so the older Fox-Kitten had opted to sleep outside instead. She'd grown to miss his warmth, his soft fur, his content purr as the sun rose.

She yawned and drowsily crawled out of the den. The sun had yet to rise more than a fourth of the way past the mountains, so the sky bathed everything in sight with a crimson-hued glow. Eevee stretched out her body and shivered briefly as her muscles woke up.

Vulpix lay sprawled out on the other side of the fire-pit he'd made. He made a ritual of only sleeping half the night and keeping a lit fire for them the rest of the night. It was necessary – at least for him – because Viridian Forest was almost as frigid as an Articuno's breath once the sun had set.

Eevee walked around the fire's smoldering remains and licked Vulpix's cheek. He rolled over in his sleep and kicked with his back legs for a moment. Once Eevee was certain he was still asleep, she nipped his ear. Not much of a response did he give then, either, so she decided it was time for drastic measures. This time, she bit down, and she bit down HARD.

Vulpix responded by waking up in a violent flurry of teeth, claws, and flame. Eevee just wrestled him to the ground and sat on top of him in victory.

"I ~ win! I ~ win!" she gloated cheerfully in his face. He snarled, angry at being awake and at having awakened in such a way. He rolled over, throwing her off of him, and quickly got to his feet so she didn't have the same opportunity to pin him down again.

"Eevee, what have I told you about doing that?!" he barked.

She giggled cutely. "You're just mad that I won." And with that the Fox-Kitten stuck her tongue out at him.

The rusty-colored fox's six tails twitched in irritation. "You really irk me sometimes. Why'd you have to grow up? You were… quieter, then."

"Oh, boo!" she yipped with a huff. "Time waits for no-one, dear Vulpix." Just then her stomach growled quite audibly. "Speaking of waiting, I'm starving…"

"You're an adult now," he retorted grumpily as he began to lay down, "so you can go out and get food for yourself."

She huffed again. "You mean to tell me you'd let a defenseless lady like me wander around here all alone, to be taken advantage of by some brute Mankey or worse?! Some gentlefox you are."

'Good grief…' he thought. He stood up, with some reluctance, and said "FINE, I'll go with you to get food, if it'll make you happy." She pranced around, cheering "Yay! Yay! A gentlefox after all, yay!"

Vulpix closed his eyes and sighed. "An adult, yet still so childish…" he muttered under his breath. "Quit your moronic jumping around and come on, my little Eevee."

She stopped her cheering and prancing and took her place by his side. "By the way, don't you think it's time for me to have a new nickname? I have grown up, after all."

"Perhaps, but you're only a little bigger than half my size."

"But you promised-"

"I know, I know. I will give you a nickname, soon. But it can't be rushed – like your fur, it has to fit you, and only, you perfectly."

She pouted. "Fiiiiine. Just wait until I evolve. Then you're gonna have no reason to not re-nickname me. I could be a Jet, or a Blaze, or-"

"Not Blaze."

"Why not? That's it, it has to be Blaze-"

"Blaze is MY nickname," he said flatly.

"It is not. You're just saying that."

"Rather, Blaze WAS my nickname… when I belonged to HIM…"

Eevee stopped walking and cocked her head in question. "Him?" she repeated.

Vulpix took a few steps more, then turned around after a long pause. "Once, long ago, I belonged to a human Trainer. We spent a long time together. I was so happy… until one day, he released me… I couldn't find him. I couldn't hear him, or smell him, or hear him anywhere.

"At first, I was utterly heartbroken. I cried myself to sleep every night for six months straight. Wild Pokemon tried to attack me at times, but I defended myself with all the skills I'd learned while he still owned me.

"After I moved on from the initial depression, I started wondering, asking questions. 'Why did he abandon me?' I wondered. 'Why did he let go of me? Does he… no longer love me?'

"One day as I was walking through grass I heard the familiar noise of a Poke Ball releasing a Pokemon. 'A Trainer!' I thought excitedly. When I turned around I was shocked at who I saw.

" 'Blaze!' he said, as if he'd missed me. As if he'd come looking for me. For a moment he almost made me believe he still loved me." Vulpix sighed and was silent for a little bit. Eevee wasn't sure how to react and was scared to approach him, but he continued talking.

"The Arbok he sent out tried to reason with me – or rather, tried to lie to me about what happened. I didn't let his words get to me, though. I knew the truth.

"With no alternatives left, Arbok was commanded to subdue me, no doubt so I could be re-captured and put back to use as the tool I was. He didn't count on my growing so strong and viciously feral in the wild, though, and I swiftly defeated his Arbok and all the subsequent Pokemon he sent out. He ran away with tears in his eyes, and I never saw him again."

Vulpix sighed again. "That was over a year ago, now… I still sometimes wonder if maybe I was wrong. But knowing now, would be meaningless. I bet he doesn't even think about me anymore…"

"Do you still love him as a Trainer?" Eevee asked.

Vulpix shrugged. "I don't know. I… There's something there. It's not so much love as unresolved conflicts and unhealed pain…"

Eevee frowned and brushed her head against his side. "There's more to life than carrying a resentment for as long as you live."

"And what do you know of it?" he snapped. Eevee flinched at his sudden harshness. He stepped back and angrily pawed at the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be angry at you. It's just…" He growled. "I need to be alone for a little while."

And with that he sped off into the woods. Eevee knew she couldn't follow him, so she returned to the den. Minutes passed and Pikachu came clumsily walking out of the berry grove with an armful of berries. He saw Eevee by herself trying to restart the fire and decided to stop and lend a hand.

"You look like you could use some help," he said to her in a friendly voice. She was initially startled, since she hadn't noticed the yellow mouse's approach, but didn't show it in any major way.

"Hello…" she greeted bashfully.

Pikachu set the berries down at his feet and looked around. "Where's Vulpix?"

"I upset him, so he ran off to be alone for a little while."

The mouse continued to watch her pitifully clueless attempts to start a fire. "Would you like some help?"

She backed away. "Yes. I have no idea what I'm doing."

Pikachu stepped to the side, away from his breakfast, and started storing electricity in his cheeks. Sparks flew from the red spots and into a leafier part of the wood pile, causing only a small flame to start and gradually grow. Pikachu blew on it a couple of times, and after a moment it became a full, raging fire.

"Um, thanks…" Eevee said bashfully.

"No problem," he replied cheerily. He offered her some berries.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she asked cautiously, eyeing the plump red fruits.

"I'm sure. I got more than I should have, anyway…" Pikachu popped a berry into his mouth. After a couple of minutes of trying to speak, he swallowed the fruit so he could make his words intelligible. "So what happened between you and Vulpix? How'd you upset him?"

Eevee recounted the whole story, including Vulpix's history with his Trainer. Pikachu seemed to get slightly depressed upon hearing of Vulpix's betrayal.

"Eevee, can I tell you a secret?" he asked. She nodded. "I was once a Trainer's pet. It seemed as though the years just flew by when I was under his care. I was never as happy as I was then.

"One day he took every Pokemon he had, including myself, and released us all one by one. When he let me go, he said that he was so sorry, he just couldn't care for us all like he used to. He'd captured many Pokemon and didn't think it'd be fair just to favor any of us. When he'd caught us he'd been a child, but he'd matured into an adult. Things had been different and I had noticed, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"I can see how Vulpix can still be so hurt, but I think he's wrong about his Trainer's intentions." He popped another berry into his mouth and appeared as though he was deep in thought.

"I just wish I could make him happier. He's almost always so sad; when he's not it's because he's in a fight, where he's violent and furious. When I have to pull him off of other Pokemon I'm always afraid he'll turn on me in his blind rage."

"Maybe what might help him finally be at peace… I think you and him should travel the country together. It worked for me, but I wasn't so violent and furious."

Eevee's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea! Pikachu, you're a genius!"

"Naw, naw. I'm just old and wise," he replied. Eevee started to run off into the woods after Vulpix, but Pikachu stopped her. "He'll come back. No need to get lost in the woods, now."

Eevee returned to the fire, threw in a branch, and sat back down to wait for her friend.

Vulpix found himself at the edge of a river. 'I've never seen this here before…' he thought, a little apprehensively. 'Maybe I've gone a little too far… hope I'm not lost.'

He noticed a school of orange fish floating by and recognized them as Magikarp. 'A useless lot…' he thought. 'No need to even THINK of asking them where I am…'

One broke out from the school as if it was reading Vulpix's mind and swam directly up to him at the shore's edge. "Karp, karp. You look lost," it spoke clearly through the water. The rest of the fish stopped, as if waiting for the renegade.

Vulpix turned away – or tried to, anyway. Every direction he faced, the Magikarp managed to enter his sight faster than he could evade. "I'm not lost. I'm fine," he said dully.

"Karp, are you sure?"

"Karp, yes, now leave me alone," he mocked, slightly annoyed.

"Karp, karp…" the fish replied and returned to the others and to leave. Vulpix bowed his head to the water in preparation to drink but stopped when a gang of Spearow dropped down from the skies and landed behind him.

"Hey, you!" one tweeted, "Do you know where you are?!"

"Yeah, you!" another chimed. "You're on the Spearow Gang's turf!"

Vulpix silently stared them all down as he counted. "Only seven of you?" he remarked, amused. "One of you better sit this fight out so you can carry your little friends home."

"Quiet, you!" the first one chirped and kicked up a giant cloud of dust. The others soon joined in, and the dust cloud became so thick Vulpix couldn't see through it at all. In and of itself, this wasn't much of a problem. But after a moment, a Spearow tore through the dust cloud, attacking Vulpix in a flurry of talon-scratching and pecking, and it vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. The dust didn't dissipate after a moment's reprieve, either, so Vulpix took that to mean that the birds were still kicking up the dust while attacking him.

Before he could react, he was attacked by another Spearow's attacks, and another, and another. He didn't have time or room to retaliate against them, only taking everything they threw at him. But he was getting angrier every time he was hit, and it only made things worse that he couldn't attack appropriately. He blindly started shooting Flamethrower streams in whatever random directions he happened to end up facing.

"Ha! He can't hit us! He can't hit us! We're going to win!" he heard one of them scream gleefully. Little did they know his plan wasn't necessarily to hurt them – his plan was to ignite one of the trees in the surrounding area, causing it to send smoke up into the sky as a distress signal. Hopefully someone would come aid him. Otherwise, at the rate the birds were attacking… well, it was starting to get awfully dark and cold…

Eevee looked off into the distance. 'Where could he be?' she wondered, worried. Pikachu said nothing, only looking into the fire and thinking about his past. Suddenly Eevee sprang to her feet, crying "Smoke! Pikachu!"

The mouse looked in the direction that the fox-kitten was facing. Indeed, thick black smoke was bellowing out of a portion of the forest. "Oh, no…" he murmured. "It must be Vulpix! Let's go!"

The two sped off in the direction of the smoke. After ten or eleven minutes they arrived at what seemed to be the crime scene – a flock of wild Spearow kicking up dust and attacking something they'd trapped in their ring-like formation. The two had arrived just in time to hear Vulpix scream, as well.

Eevee used her Hyper Voice technique. It blew the dust away from the birds and onto the flaming trees, partially extinguishing some of the fire. Some of the birds that had their backs turned were blown off-balance and given no chance to recover as Pikachu was already blasting Thunderbolts left and right.

Vulpix was lying in the center of the ring, still being attacked. He was in bad shape, with numerous cuts and gashes all over his small body. As soon as Pikachu had taken out three of the birds, Vulpix used Extremespeed. One of the Spearow dived down at him with Peck, not knowing about his sudden power. Vulpix was seeing everything as though it had slowed down by 100% its normal speed. He easily side-stepped the attack and clenched his teeth around the bird's neck like a vice. He then proceeded to swing it around and pound the body into the ground over and over. After the sixth slam he swung it around a couple of times and slung it into one of its compatriots. Upon making contact the body went back into slow-motion mode.

Vulpix noticed everything gradually speeding up. He rushed to his next target and unleashed a Fire Blast at the very tip of its beak. Then he backed up a few steps and charged the Fire Blast with a few Flamethrower streams, for additional power.

Finally he turned his attention to the last Spearow, the one that had first spoken. It had started a feeble attempt to flee, and for a moment it looked as though it would succeed. Vulpix's elevated state vanished as soon as he took the first few steps towards the bird, putting everything back in real-time from his perspective. The two Spearow he'd slammed together rocketed out of the forest, and the other was propelled out of the forest from the concussive blast force caused by the explosion Vulpix had set.

In his condition, Vulpix was slowing down. He couldn't catch the last Spearow. But Pikachu launched a Thunderwave attack at the bird, paralyzing it. It fell to the ground, motionless, as Vulpix stood over it.

"Please don't kill me! I'll do anything! I'll never do this again, I swear! I'll never try to hurt anybody! Just please don't kill me, I'm begging you!" it pleaded. Vulpix stole a moment when it was screaming and forced its beak as wide open as he could possibly make it. He had to stand on top of the Spearow to do so, which also had the added effect of making it stop all its screaming, too.

"You had every intention… to end my life…" he spoke slowly, darkly, pausing as the blood loss made him fade in and out of consciousness. "I'll take no chances… in sparing yours…"

Vulpix drew in the largest breath he could and fired a Flamethrower jet down into the bird's mouth. The flames didn't stop there – they travelled down its throat and into its body. It screamed an unimaginable, blood-curdling scream and Pikachu had to force Eevee to look away. When Vulpix ran out of breath he forced the Spearow's beak closed to prevent the flames from escaping. The internal pressure along with the growing supernova caused the bird's body to explode and incinerate all at once, leaving Vulpix standing in a pile of flaming ash. The sudden intense heat wave cauterized all of Vulpix's bleeding wounds, if nothing else, but he collapsed after taking two steps towards his friends.

Eevee immediately rushed to his side, weeping with more worry than ever before. Pikachu wasn't far behind her, telling her to help him carry the fallen Fox-Kitten back to their den quickly. They did just that, careful not to drop him or hit him against anything for fear of putting his health at further risk.

Once there, Pikachu stoked up the dying fire until it lit up the daylight itself. He ordered Eevee to keep Vulpix close to the flame, and stay physically close to him as well.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he said. "I've got a medical berry grove hidden away so that only I can get to it. I should have something to help." He ran off without another word.

Eevee cuddled up to Vulpix and set her ear to his chest. His heartbeat was alarmingly faint, and his breathing wasn't so great-sounding, either. It was slow, slow and labored. She cried softly, afraid to lose the last thing she had to give her life meaning.

"Vulpix… I l-love…" she spluttered, burying her face in his shoulder.

Suddenly it seemed as though his body shifted. His breathing sped up. "You… love… what…?" he asked under his breath. She jerked her face out of his pelt.

"Vulpix!? You're alive?!" she gasped.

"Alive…?" he repeated losing the strength to hold his head up. He laid his cheek on his paws. "I… I'm a monster…"

"Vulpix, let's talk about this later, okay? Just… please let me hold you…" she pleaded.

"I don't have the strength to stop you," he replied with a weak smile. She buried her face in his shoulder again, purring. "So… what were you going to say?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied teasingly.

"You were saying something about lo-"

"Oh look, Pikachu's here!" she interrupted, rushing over to the yellow mouse. He was carrying a stone bowl full of a pink, watery liquid. "Has he come to at all?"

She nodded. "We had a short conversation before you came back."

He carried the bowl over to Vulpix and sat it down. "Just drink this. It'll help you recover your blood."

The fox-kitten eyed the drink suspiciously. "As soon as I can pick my head up, I will…"

"You trust me, now?"

"…Sure. It's been eight months."

Pikachu hummed. "I see… Well, I'll take my leave, now. I think you two need to be alone." The mouse ran off into the woods.

Eevee sat close to Vulpix. "So, um… I want to ask you something."

"Yes?" He sat up and began lapping at Pikachu's concoction.

"I've been thinking a lot, and I've decided I want to travel around the country-"

"Then go. You're an adult; you can take care of yourself."

Her jaw dropped. "How could you be so cluelessly cold? I want you to go with me regardless of whether or not I can take care of myself!"

"It's too dangerous to keep me around. I'm a murdering monster…" he said darkly.

Eevee started to stutter in growing frustration. "Is something wrong, my little Eevee?" Vulpix teased. She tackled him dead-on and smashed their lips together in a long, fervent kiss. When they finally parted, both were blushing darkly. Eevee was the first to speak.

"You're coming with me, no argument about it."

He was so shocked from the kiss he spluttered like an old engine as it started up. "I, um, I, okay…" he finally blurted. "When do you want to leave?"

"The sooner the better," she said, winking and sitting by the fire.

Vulpix guzzled the rest of Pikachu's medicine and made a bitter face. "I'm ready when you are. I guess you should go say goodbye to all your friends."

She laughed at him. "I've spent everday of my life here with either you or Pikachu. I don't have any friends here, Blaze."

He bowed his head in defeat. "Fine, then."

Eevee ultimately convinced Vulpix to spend the rest of the day recovering while she tried to get them ready but in the end she accomplished nothing as far as preparing. Fully rested and recovered, Vulpix and Eevee headed North, out of Viridian Forest, unsure of what to expect on this new journey.


	4. Pewter City

Sorry this chapter is so short (read: shit) but I had a fair amount of stress and technical problems while making it. Plus, it's something I really had to force out to bridge to the next chapter, which is a chapter I really want to write. So, yeah. Enjoy if you can. ~Evangel

Eevee and Blaze headed north, exiting the Viridian Forest and entering an area called "Pewter City." The city appeared as though it had been built into a large quarry of its namesake mineral. The architectural style of the buildings seemed outdated by a century.

"It stinks to high hell here…" Blaze said, his face displaying an obvious displeasure.

Eevee was unable to smell anything out of the ordinary. "Are you sure it's not just your imagination? Because, I don't smell anything so unpleasant…"

"No, it's not just my imagination. It's a staggering, choking stench, like… like tar," he responded. "I don't like this place."

"Just because it smells bad?"

"SOLELY BECAUSE IT SMELLS BAD." His voice was firm. "The sooner we leave, the better."

Eevee rolled her eyes. "Okay, if you say so…" She looked around. "Have you ever been here before?"

"It seems vaguely familiar… Why?"

She pointed at the second-largest building around. It had two statues in front of it that appeared to resemble some sort of dragon-like Pokemon. "What's that?"

"That is a Pokemon Gym, I believe. Trainers take their Pokemon there to test their strength. If a Trainer's Pokemon are strong enough they can challenge the Gym Leader, a strong Trainer who's been officially appointed as the final test of a Trainer's supposed strength. In all, there are 8 gyms, each run by an officially-appointed Leader, and any Trainer who clears all 8 Gyms…"

"Yeah? What happens?"

"I don't really know…" he sighed. "My Trainer released me after his fifth Gym victory…"

"Maybe we could fight the Gym Leaders!"

Blaze shook his head. "That wouldn't be very possible. To them, we're just more wild Pokemon. They'd try to capture us instead of just fighting us."

"Eevee frowned. "Well, that sucks…"

The two were too busy talking to notice that two Pokemon were casually approaching them from behind. "Looks like we've got some newcomers, Onyx," one of them said in a harsh, gravelly voice.

Blaze and Eevee promptly spun around, the rust-colored kitten already in an aggressive stance. They were greeted by the sight of a massive, lengthy Pokemon that appeared to be a snake composed of numerous boulders and a far smaller Pokemon that appeared similar to a boulder with arms. The smaller Pokemon had its arms crossed.

"You… who are you?" Blaze demanded.

"Kinda rude, ain't they?" the rock-snake Pokemon replied. "I'm Onyx."

"And I am Geodude," the other said. "We belong to the Gym Leader of this town."

"Impossible. Everyone knows Trainers don't let their Pokemon just wander free," Blaze spat.

"Brock, our Trainer, does. We're safe here, thanks to his efforts to actually make the city safe," Onyx explained. "He sacrifices a lot of his personal life to his work."

"We heard your plot to fight the Gym Leaders, little one. Your six-tailed friend failed to mention that Trainers who defeat Gym Leaders receive a Gym Badge, a medal that officially recognizes Trainers that complete such an oft-difficult task," Geodude stated to Eevee. "The least we can do, if you really want to battle us, is accept your challenge. We don't have anything to give you should you win, though…"

"Hmm…" Blaze turned to Eevee. "Well, I don't see any downside to this… What do you think?"

Eevee cocked her head cutely. "Do you want to fight them?"

He smirked. "I think I'd enjoy the challenge."

"You really should tell us your names, first…" Geodude interrupted.

"I'm Vulpix, but you should call me Blaze," replied the six-tailed Fox-Kitten.

"I'm Eevee. I don't really have a nickname yet…" said the other.

"Blaze and Eevee, hmm?" the boulder-Pokemon repeated. "Very well, then. I shall commit your names to my memory."

"Come on! If we're gonna fight, let's fight!" Onyx shouted impatiently, charging at the two fox-kittens. They jumped in opposite directions to avoid the attack.

"Eevee! I'll try to distract Onyx! You take care of Geodude, and then we'll both attack Onyx!" Blaze commanded, shooting a Flamethrower at the giant rock-snake.

"Right!" Eevee called back, turning her attention to the smaller boulder. It had a slightly larger boulder than itself in each hand.

"Dodge THIS!" he yelled, and threw each one at her. She barrel-rolled to the side and screamed, using Hyper Voice. The sound waves blasted through the rock-Pokemon's body, but despite the power of the attack, it hardly caused the solid Pokemon any major damage. It did leave him nauseous and confused, however.

"I… can't… see… straight…" it murmured, gripping the sides of its face. "Everything looks like me!"

Onyx turned its head to look. "Dude, what's wrong? I hear you talking but I can't make out your words!"

"GOT YOU!" Blaze declared, pouncing on the Onyx's tail and running up its body to its head. He clamped his jaws on the Pokemon's rock face and started to build up flame inside his body. The Onyx began thrashing around wildly, trying to shake the tight-holding Pokemon.

Eevee started moving away from the more violent Pokemon battle. The Geodude used its arms to throw itself after her, not really sure if it even was her or not. "COME HERE!"

She stopped dead in her tracks so that the Geodude continued in its trajectory far past her location. "NOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed in her Hyper Voice again. This time, Geodude was shaken to his core and suffered severe damage.

"No… not… now…" he stuttered before gasping his last breath and passing out. Eevee rushed over to the battle between Blaze and Onyx, which seemed as though it was about to come to a close.

"GET OFF! GET OFF!" the Rock-Snake Pokemon screamed, flailing about and trying to fling the Vulpix off of him.

"ALRIGHT! HAAAA!" Vulpix replied and unleashed a ferocious Fire Blast and Flamethrower combined attack. The heat penetrated through to the Onyx's core, but did not cause any physically scarring damage. The Fox-Kitten jumped from the Rock-Snake's head, flipping through the air and landing on its feet beside Eevee as the Pokemon collapsed to the ground.

"Well, that was fun…" Blaze murmured. Eevee giggled. "Young one, there isn't really anything for us to do here now, so we should get going."

"Alright… where are we going?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, we can head east to reach the next city."

"Wait… WAIT!" the Geodude called out to them. Dizzily it scrambled towards them on its arms. "Just… wait… a second…"

Blaze quirked an eyebrow at him. "You alright, there?"

"I, uh… Everything's spinning, and I can't seem to find my balance, but I'm slowly coming around…" it replied.

"Come on, we don't have all day."

"YEAH! We're exploring the whole world!" Eevee chimed excitedly.

"The whole world, eh? " Onyx repeated, a twinkle in his eyes. "Remember when we travelled with Brock and those other two trainers, Geodude? That was some true fun."

"Fun times, indeed," the boulder replied. "I just wanted you to tell me your names again, because they seem to have slipped my mind."

The Vulpix stepped forward. "I'm Blaze."

Eevee nodded. "And I'm Eevee."

The Geodude pounded its fists on the ground. "Blaze… Eevee… I'll be sure to remember them. Well, take care. I'll look forward to the day we meet again." It then waved goodbye at the two and entered the Gym with Onyx not far behind.

"Well, Eevee, that was… strange…" Blaze muttered under his breath. "But at least you got your wish, right?"

She tilted her head cutely. "I think so…"

"Anyway, we should get moving before the sun sets. That fight took far too long."

At that same time, the Pokemon Center door slid open and an old man walked through. He had no hair on his head, save for his waist-long beard, and wore a light-blue robe with khaki pants. His face was wrinkled beyond compare, and he trembled with every move he made. He carried a staff with a delicate, ornate design carved from tip to tip along the body.

"This place always reminds me of the time I was young…" he murmured dreamily. "Here, it's almost as if time never passes…"

As he took a step forward, something caught his eye. 'A wild Vulpix and Eevee here?' he thought, scratching his chin. 'How very strange…'

The two Pokemon briefly turned towards him as they began to walk away, giving the old man a quick glimpse of them. The Vulpix's paw, though… Something about the mark on it stirred his memory…


End file.
